


Shot through the heart and you’re to blame

by FanFiction_Artist_Prototype



Series: Langst [4]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst with little plot, Bad parenting by Space Mom And Space Dad, Blue wants her Paladin back, Despite the title it isn’t a song fic., Feelings in your Hagar? It’s more likely than you’d think!, Hagar your mother is showing, He wanted a hug. He got a spear instead, Hunk is trying okay?, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I'm not sorry, It's a rollercoaster of emotions bitches and it’s mainky drops, Keith is a work in process, Langst, Long, Look after your children properly Space Parents, Looking at you Shiro and Allura, Major character death - Freeform, Pidge is too young for half of this shit, Possibly a one shot but who knows with me?, Shiro is far too old for this but also too damaged to really be blamed? Where do we draw the line?, The Galra are well aware of what’s going on., There are too many tags for something like this. Do I care? No., This Is Not Going To Go The Way You Think, This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things, You can gauge the plot by reading the tags., You know what? It’s cliche but let’s have Voltron be the somewhat bad guys!, he dies okay? Nothing you can do about it, like at all, no regrets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-09
Updated: 2018-05-10
Packaged: 2019-05-04 14:44:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,272
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14595282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FanFiction_Artist_Prototype/pseuds/FanFiction_Artist_Prototype
Summary: It all started with a lecture, and it all ended with a funeral.“Why can’t you just be serious for once!?”“I wish I could hear you make jokes again.”“You need to focus!”“We can’t focus without you.”





	1. Chapter 1

_Allura’s words cut into him like a knife. And Shiro’s glare dug the blade of self doubt even further in. Just keep calm Lance, it will be fine Lance. Just nod along like this isn’t the hundredth time today you’ve heard the words ‘ **useless** ’,’ **immature** ’,’ **irresponsible** ’ And ‘ **liability** ’ directed towards yourself._

_”You need to stop messing around all the time. Everybody has a job to do and they can’t do it when you keep distracting them with stupid jokes.”_

_That was nice, to hear his exclusion form everyone be put out so blatantly into the open that even Allura and Shiro noticed it. It was fine though, they didn’t need to worry, Lance was aware he wasn’t particularly good at anything. He wasn’t strong like Shiro and Hunk. He wasn’t a tech genius like Pidge and he wasn’t even a particularly good pilot as far as anybody was concerned. He was a people person. Lance liked to make people happy. So, without a designated task he had began to go around making people laugh, making them shake their heads in that ‘ **It's funny but I shouldn’t laugh at it**.’ way._

_”What the Princess is trying to say Lance, is that-“_

_The blaring red light and sirens shut Shiro off, Lance not even thinking twice before running to his Lion. Voltron was needed and no matter how stupid or worthless he felt, the state of the Universe was much more important than him right now._

* * *

”Dear, dear Paladin. It appears that you have been abandoned by your friends.”

The witch stood in front of him, slouched, yellow eyes boring into him from under her hooded cloak. Her skin reminded him of the shade of his mother’s eyes, an oceanic colour that looked almost unreal. Her hands were held in front of her, looking like she was pearching them on something with the way they seemed to hook midair.

”Why not tell us about Voltron? If you do...we can come to a...agreement.”

It was stupid, it was dangerous and only a foolish jester of a man would do it, but Lance laughed. Oh, how he laughed. If it wasn’t for the manacles keeping him there he would of been on the floor practically rolling around with laughter. The witch’s expression controted slightly, it wasn’t a very clear expression due to the cloak covering much of her face, but Lance could tell she was confused.

”You really think I’m going to give up information to save my own skin?”

The lighting that erupted from her fingers and latched onto him hurt like hell. He felt his body convulse and didn’t even realise until his throat started to hurt that he had been screaming violently.

A seething tone filled her words: “Why do you insist on protecting them Paladin? It has been three Quintans since you were captured, they have retrieved your lion but have made no attempt to rescue you. Does that not fill you with anger?” 

He couldn’t help the self deprecating laugh that tore its way out of him.

”Y-you really think they care? Hahaha! How foolish are you? Humans are selfish creatures and we always will be. They’ll just get a new Paladin.” He saw the pure white hair make an appearance as the hood was pulled down revealing Altean like markings on the witch’s face.

She appeared to study him for a moment, before walking closer placing her hand over one of the handcuffs, making it releas his wrist. He would of taken the chance to swing at her if he wasn’t struggling to keep her prying hands from his tattered uniforms sleeve. There were scars there, young and old. Most self inflicted and he hadn’t wanted the people he spent most of his time with to know, never mind the enemies head torturer. Her bony fingers however, managed to hold his equally bony wrist down and pull at the tattered spandex, revealing an array of crossing lines.

”Just as suspected, your quintessense isn’t as pure as the others. Your soul is damaged so it creates tainted quintessense...most interesting. Lord Zarkon would love to hear about this.”

Lance allowed the fear to wash over him, and then drown him. Zarkon. Zarkon. Large immortal, all powerful, most likely going to squash him like a bug Zarkon.

”However...I believe he would find no use for it. Draining you of it and throwing your husk into space. I...don’t wish to see that happen. You are but a child, and though you are a Paladin I do believe I should treat you like the other child prisoners.”

That made him sick to his stomach. OTHER.There were possibly aliens younger than him on the ship.

* * *

 

”So cool! Are you and you’re friends going to save everybody Mr.Lance?”

The small alien sat in his lap questioning him, much like every other alien had when he arrived. Many of them were shocked to learn that somebody the same age or younger/older ever so slightly than them was saving the universe.

”If he was he wouldn’t be here. Idiot. He’d be outside the cell saving us already.” Fgy (the oldest of them all who was soon to be transported to the adult cells) leant against the wall near the door, glaring at him. Lance didn’t blame him.

”My friends? No. They don’t actually know I’m here.” He raised his voice so all the younger aliens could hear him, “But I’m on a secret mission to save everyone.” He winked at Fgy, who reluctantly went along with it from then on.

-(*)-

“Are you sure this will work? What if you’re wrong? Or you miss?”

Peeking through the tiny gap between the door and the wall (something that had taken him and Fgy months - at least he thought it was months- to create) squinting when he saw the pad that had to be pressed to open the door. He had managed to steal one of the galra chips the other day. The pad needed galra DNA/ galra tech to open so this would have to do.

”It will work, I’ve seen it done hundreds of time. Also,” he smirked at Fgy as he flicked the chip through the gap landing perfectly in the middle without looking at it, “Don’t assume I will miss.”

The doors slid open, and when other prisoners (some with galra advancements) continued to open He was able to rally the prisoners, starting a riot that managed to take control of the ship. He was glad Hagar had left long ago.

Now in control of a Galra ship, they had landed and called in the nearest reble base - one of the prisoners in Lance’s neighbouring cell being apart of it- who had come pick them up and get them to safety. It was there that he met Matt, he had accidentally said Pidge when seeing him (though it wasn’t really looks anymore and more the eyes) which caused the reble commander to demand how he knew his younger sister.

Informing him that he was one of the Paladins of Voltron, he was informed that Blue was now piloted by Allura.

* * *

 

”Do you think they’ll actually want me back?”

He and Matt were stood over the drop point, Matt was faking his death having to move to a secure location for a secret mission while Lance was attempting to go back to the Castle. He really hoped they would have him. Punching his arm playfully Matt gave him a big smile.

”If they don’t you know where my location is, just join me on my mission. But I’m one hundred percent confident that they will. After all it’s not everyday someone comes back from the dead right? Or is that something you haven’t told me about?”

”Are you sure you don’t want to come with me?”

”I have a mission to do Lance. Besides, I know you’ll keep Katie safe for me. Right?”

”Yeah.”

Looking out over the lush planets surface he and Matt stood side by side. ”We jump on three?” He could see Matt still looking nervous in the corner of his eye, he knew what to do.

”Jump on three.”

”Okay so! One!” Lance pushed Matt out of the shuttle on one, hearing an unholy screech come from the older boy, before jumping after him and activating his jet pack, catching up with Matt.

”What was that for!?”

”Well they say go on three, but then people back out. So then they push on two, which I had a feeling you would do to me, so I pushed you first.” Reangling themselves, the two teens landed safely and taking off his helmet Lance couldn’t help but appreciate the fauna of the planet. Unlike other missions he’d been on with Matt this was their goodbye. At least for now.

”Team Voltron are six clicks that way. My pick up in seventeen clicks this way. I’ll see you on the flip side okay Lance?”

Lance didn’t hesitate when Matt held out his hand for a fist bump. Since joining the rebels he’d been able to clear his head more, to relax. To not focus so much on what he felt but on what he needed to do. In the Castke of lions there were too many hours spent in silence, in the rebel camps that he’d been living in there was always chatter, always machinery humming and depending on where you were always the sound of somebody firing weapons. Clutching his bayard close to him, he made sure he hadn’t accidentally left any Paladin armour in the cargo hold of the shuttle, before starting his six click journey to the Paladins.

-(*)-

Lance didn’t even get half way to where he was supposed to before he found Blue. The large  metal cat had been easy to spot, even from the ground. It’s old almost lost, mental connection rebounding within the seconds that they saw each other. It appeared that she didn’t have a pilot either.

The blue leg of Voltron landed in a clearing as Lance walked up to her. “Hey girl...you miss me so much you dumped Allura for me huh?” He patted the lions snout as it simply lay on its stomach. Unlike normally where it would sit upright and envelop itself in its force field she just let him stay close to her.

The Lions purrs and rumbles were easy to understand as he kept a hand on her, hearing all about the misadventures she’d had with the team and her new Paladin. Often complaining that her new one wasn’t anywhere near as gentle as her cub was with her. That made him smile. Blue always called him her cub.

Most of the other Paladins didn’t have such close psychic connections to their lions, so they often wondered how Lance could sit in his hanger for hours, just listening to his Lion rant about how he needed to look after himself or how the Red Lion was annoying, floating that she had the better Paladin when it was very obvious that she, the glorious blue lion, did.

Hearing the roads of the other lions before he felt the wind rush as their boosters caused air to rush the clearing, Lance turned, his hood still covering most of his features until a particularly strong gust knocked it back, revealing his scared and slightly wrinkled face to his old friends.

///-(*)-///

Hunk couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Lance had died ten months ago, they couldn’t find him and Allura has forced them to stop the search, claiming that he was probably dead. It was almost like a betrayal when she took over control of the blue lion. He still hadn’t forgiven her for making him leave his best friend in the monsters grasp.

But there he was. Standing in front of a crouched blue lion. The same Blue lion thatwhile they were getting ready to leave the planet had violently ejected a Allura from its coxpit and without a pilot set off to this clearing. Lance had obviously seen something horrible. His face had little scars, like the nick that went from just under his eye to his ear or the one diagonally across his forehead (only visible due to the lions zoomed in perspective.)

His eyes seemed hardened as well, no longer was there a sparkling light for every joke that would tumble out, now he felt like he was looking at a war veteran.

///-(*)-///

When the lions landed, Lance could feel the shift in his Lion, she was getting protective. He assured her, she didn’t need to be.

”L-Lance!” It was only reflexes developed over the last five months as well as experience with younger siblings that allowed Lance to stay upright after Pidge had lunged at him, attaching herself to his waist -helmet strewn off some where- as tears soaked his rebel uniform. Hunk was the next one to land his Lion, running as quickly as he could to join in on the hug. 

The content pure he could hear from his Lion gave Lance the indication that she liked him being surrounded by friends. The Red and Black lions landed relatively at the same time. Keith almost stumbling out of his Lion as he pulled Hunk and a Pidge off of him, before pulling him in for a tight hug. He hadn’t thought that the Red Paladin thoughts so highly of him to give him such physical affection, but he gladly returned it when he heard Keith start blubbering, which set off Hunk and Pidge again.

So in the end Lance, tired and ready to fall asleep standing, had three weeping Paladins hanging off of him as he tried to comfort them.

 

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Somewhat graphic descriptions of violence.

_He grabbed onto the metal bar next to the bed like a life line, refusing to look at his knee._

_A crash after a direct hit from a Galra drone had resulted in Lance having to make an emergency landing, which soon turned into a fire fight. Thankfully the rebels aboard the shuttle he’d been piloting hadn’t been seriously injured. Lance however, had managed to shatter his knee cap and send his tibia through his muscle and skin._

_The bone was ugly in colour compared to his ashen and blood splattered skin. He would need to have his leg dislocated and then his knee cap operated on to give him any chance of walking on it again. Lord have mercy. He wasn’t even moving it, nor was it getting touched but it felt like somebody was cutting his leg open. Oh, he thought as a scream was ripped from him, the doctor was._

_The sharp pain from the scalpel was horrendous, shooting through his leg and into his chest, which he gripped with his other hand, Matt was sat next to him talking to him and trying to distract him._

_”You’ll be fine Lance, come on, what’s a good joke...Hey Lance?”_

_He could almost sense the bad joke coming and directed his glare towards the rebel commander, “It’s **knife** to meet you.”_

_Biting his tongue slightly from the pain, Lance managed to growl out a very angry curse word before gritting his teeth at Matt. “You try having a knife slice you fucking open! The you can make a fucking joke about it! Agh!”_

_He heard the doctor tell him sorry and Lance seriously wondered how with all this amazing technology aliens hadn’t developed anaesthesia._

* * *

”Hey Lance, why do you have a limp?” Lance turned his head over to Keith who was walking beside him as they entered the Castle of Lions, scowling slightly at the question. Was it still that noticeable?

”After escaping from the Galra me and the other prisoners got picked up by a rebel group where I started helping out, I heard from one of the other soldiers that Allura had taken over as Blue Paladin so I didn’t come back. Anyway, I ended up doing missions for them. My shuttle got shot down, thankfully non of us were killed, but I shattered my knee cap and my tibia broke through my muscle and skin tissue. It’s taken ages to get better.”

* * *

 

”You up for this sharpshooter? It’s been awhile since you flew Blue as part of Voltron.”

”I’ll be fine Shiro. What could go wrong?”

-(*)-

“Focus Lance! Come on! We need to get the planet secure!”

”It’s not me! I’m doing exactly what we always used to do!”

”Things have changed since then Lance! Time to get with the program!”

Yeah, things certainly had changed. It was clear Allura was the better pilot anyway.

”Sorry Shiro.”

-(*)-

 Running through the Galra base, Lance could hear the whooping of his friends through the intercom. He’d told them he would deal with Galra on the ground. Any second now they’d see Blue. He’d told her to go and help them. The lions were sentient and it was only with help from the Paladins that they really did anything, but they were capable of doing it on their own. Blue had been reluctant but he’d told her about what had happened and so she left.

”Just have to get to the weapons room, if that goes up so will the rest of the base.”

Turning quickly, Lance crumple day to his knees, pain shooting through his heart. “Agh!” Falling forward onto his hands and knees Lance barley managed to hear his friends concerned voices. But, he ignored them. He had to ignore them.

”Just around the corner, come on come on.” Almost dragging himself to the room now, Lance managed to crawl into the room, hiding in the middle of a stack of explosives. He couldn’t help the laugh that erupted from him.

”Lance!? Lance!? Lance where are you! Blue just went back to the Castle and you aren’t here!”

Laughing some more he could hear how scared Pidge was.

”It’s fine Pidge. I told her to do that.”

”Well where are you?” He could hear the tremble now.

”I never told you did I? Matt’s alive. You’re brother is alive Pidge. He’s the one that helped me so much. He’s on a mission though, the coordinates should be in my room. Use them.”

”Heh, why are you telling me now? Come on Lance, where are you? I’ll save you and we’ll go find Matt together!” It hurt. It really hurt.

He could hear her crying now.

”Agh! Owowowo.” Sweating now, and breathingly heavily, Lance pressed one hand over his heart.

”Lance!?”

”Don’t worry about me. Okay, tell Matt that I was glad to know him for me when you see him please?”

”Lance I told you, we’ll find him together.”

”I’m afraid I can’t do that Pidge,” he chuckled,”I’m just afraid in general really.”

 

_“Pure quintessense is an abundant resource, planets can’t get infected or corrupted. People are like that Blue Paladin. They are hard to corrupt...but. Quintessense once corrupted starts to erode the host, eventually killing it as the host turns into a mini cluster of open aired corrupt quintessense. Something that is highly reactive to any material.”_

_“Do you know what that means Paladin? It means that when you pr body can no longer hold itself together, which won’t be too long actually, your body will desolate itself and all the things in the surrounding area. From my research if you were on your planet that wouldn’t happen, your atmosphere being very different than our own.”_

”I’m dying Pidge. Sorry I didn’t tell you guys, but I, I guess I’ll be going out with a bang.”

”Lance where are you!?”

”Doesn’t matter Katie. Doesn’t matter.”

”AAGGHH!”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What’s up? You thought I went back on the character death tag didn’t you?  
> Hahahahahah!  
> Nope!  
> Enjoy your tears losers!


End file.
